


Many Happy Returns

by Ceares



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Leverage, NCIS: Los Angeles, Stargate Atlantis, White Collar
Genre: Character of Color, Community: picfor1000, F/M, Het, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Slash, multifandom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-23
Updated: 2012-02-23
Packaged: 2017-10-31 15:53:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/345874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceares/pseuds/Ceares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks as all ways to <a href="http://imshady2.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://imshady2.livejournal.com/"><b>imshady2</b></a> for the beta. The SGA and H50 sections are all for her. All mistakes are entirely me.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Many Happy Returns

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as all ways to [](http://imshady2.livejournal.com/profile)[**imshady2**](http://imshady2.livejournal.com/) for the beta. The SGA and H50 sections are all for her. All mistakes are entirely me.

 

1.

Peter’s never been a fan of birthday parties. As a kid sometimes he got to pick a friend to do something with--go to the movies or the amusement park, horseback riding or camping with his dad--and he always liked those times better than when his mom insisted on throwing him a party and inviting all his classmates and a ton of relatives he barely knew.

He tolerates the break room get together the same way he does every year. At least he likes most of his co-workers--the same couldn’t be said about those classmates.

When he gets home there’s a steak dinner, expensive wine and Neal-made chocolate cake the three of them eat with their fingers. He gets _good_ coffee and tickets to games he’s probably going to miss, superman socks, silk ties and chocolate and wine kisses.

He spends the night of his birthday wrapped up in the arms of the two people he loves most in the world and there’s never a wish better than that.

 

2.

The eerie quiet should have clued her in that something was wrong. It was never completely quiet now, not around the team. Parker turns to comment and Hardison’s expression, gleeful and a little panicked startles her before he shoves her across the threshold. The lights come on and

“Surprise!”

Three years ago she would have run. Instead Parker grabs Hardison’s hand and holds on--digs her nails in hard enough to draw blood. She feels him flinch but he never pulls away. She plasters a fake smile on her face but the actual surprise is that it quickly becomes a real one. The cake is decorated like a safe and all the detail tells her Eliot made it himself. The presents are piled up and wrapped in shiny, shiny paper. Parker can’t wait to tear into them. Peggy and Hurley are giggly and cute like puppies and Tara has details of a new job for them. Hardison and Eliot are arguing and Nate and Sophie are making eyes at each other over the wine.

Parker looks around at her first birthday party and feels like that rabbit in the story Hardison read to her.

Hardison makes his way over to her and pulls her into a hug, kissing her softly on the temple. “Happy Birthday, baby girl.”

She closes her eyes and hugs back as hard as she can.

 

 

3.

Steve knelt and put the flowers on the headstone, tracing the lettering carved in cement. “Happy birthday, Mom.”

The idea that his mother was murdered, that there’s no justice for his parents is like a shadow on him all of the time. He was standing, his head bowed when he felt a tug on his hand.

“Hi, Uncle Steve.” Grace was looking up at him, expression solemn.

“Hey, sweetheart, what are you doing here?” Steve looked around and found Danny a few yards away, watching them with a frown.

“Daddy says if you share the sad, it’s not so bad.”

“He does does he?” Steve leaned down and hugged her, the feel of her slight, fragile frame a reminder of the things he still had. “You know what, I think he’s right.”

Gracie took his hand again and pulled him towards Danny with a grin. “He’s always right.”

“Yeah? He say that too?”

Gracie giggled and nodded. She leaned in and whispered loudly. “It’s not true though.”

Steve winked at her and glanced at Danny who was staring at him with eyes full of worry and love. “I know but we’ll let him think so, okay?”

 

 

4.

 

The thing is neither of them had great birthdays. Or good birthdays. Or birthdays that weren’t horrible and traumatic. It’s an unspoken agreement that things won’t be like that for Kip. Every year they plan like they’re conducting a raid on a Wraith hive. It’s easy when he’s small and anything shiny makes him happy. Kip is just a kid though--a kid born of a human male in a time dilation field in another galaxy--but still just a kid and by KB’s sixth birthday John and Rodney eventually flounder. When one or the other flounders, there’s backup. When they both flounder, Atlantis tends to tremble a little.

“You might just ask him.”

Their argument stops in mid yell and they both turn and look at Teyla.

“That's...”

“We could...”

She smiles serenely at them, and if it’s a little smug, well she’s earned it.

 

5.

“I’m not gonna be the one to tell my baby that her Uncle Callen isn’t coming to her birthday party. You bail out, G you’re the one telling her.”

In the end, Sam is the one who deals with it, like G knew he would. Simone is young enough that the present G gets her mitigates whatever disappointment she feels that he’s not there. She’s a sweet kid and he misses seeing her, misses the tight hugs and knock knock jokes she cracks herself up with, and the dimpled grin that’s exactly like her dad’s.

He doesn’t have it in him anymore though, to spend hours watching Sam with his wife and kids and pretend like it doesn’t feel like a knife in his gut. There are parts of Sam that belong to G, parts Nina will never have, parts G doesn’t think she’d ever want and he used to think that was enough. It’s not. When G stood over that burnt body, lost and scared, he realized that if it was Sam, he was done. If it was Sam, he had nothing left tethering him to the ground, not after Hetty’s betrayal.

Only G’s not that guy--the guy that owns a house, and goes to kid’s birthday parties, the guy  
that’s in love with his partner, the guy that _needs_ other people. That guy-- G Callen--NCIS agent, partner, friend, surrogate whatever is no more real than any other skin he’s put on over the years. He was stupid to start believing the cover.


End file.
